Rotatable grip assembly for golf clubs

Abstract

A golf club grip assembly has an upper grip fixedly mounted to a hollow shaft of a golf club, and a substantially identical lower grip, interchangeably mountable with the upper grip, and rotatable relative to the upper grip and the shaft. A selection of lower and upper mounting members which are interchangeable between the upper and lower grips are provided to accommodate a variety of sizes and shapes. A top mounting member encloses the top openings of the upper grip and shaft, is coupled to the upper grip at an annular recess, and is coupled to the inner surface of the hollow shaft at a plug comprising engaging surfaces. A user generally places a substantial portion of one hand on the rotatable lower grip and the other hand on the fixed upper grip. Upon swinging the club and hitting a ball, the lower grip, and thus the one hand, rotates relative to the upper grip and club shaft.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A grip assembly for a golf club, comprising: 
 a lower grip and an upper grip, each grip defining an elongated hollow therethrough for receiving a golf club shaft, and being interchangeably mountable on the shaft with the other grip;    a lower bearing surface coupled to the lower grip and facing the upper grip; and    an upper bearing surface coupled to the upper grip and facing the lower grip, wherein the lower and upper bearing surfaces slidably contact each other to permit rotation of the lower grip relative to the upper grip, and the upper grip includes at least one mounting surface for fixedly coupling the upper grip to the golf club shaft and preventing rotation of the upper grip relative to the shaft.    
     
     
         2 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , wherein the upper and lower grips are substantially identical.  
     
     
         3 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , further comprising: 
 a lower mounting member mountable between the lower grip and the shaft and defining the lower bearing surface; and    an upper mounting member mountable between the upper grip and the shaft and defining the upper bearing surface.    
     
     
         4 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 3   , wherein the lower mounting member and the upper mounting member are interchangeably mountable between the upper grip and the lower grip.  
     
     
         5 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , comprising: 
 a plurality of first mounting members for mounting the upper grip to the shaft, each first mounting member defining an approximately cylindrical mounting surface for slidably mounting the first mounting member on a golf club shaft between the upper grip and the shaft, and wherein at least a plurality of the first mounting members define different sized cylindrical mounting surfaces relative to each other for mounting the upper grip to any of a plurality of different sized club shafts; and    a plurality of second mounting members for mounting the lower grip to the shaft, each second mounting member defining an approximately cylindrical mounting surface for slidably mounting the second mounting member on a golf club shaft between the lower grip and the shaft, and wherein at least a plurality of the second mounting members define different sized cylindrical mounting surfaces relative to each other for mounting the lower grip to any of a plurality of different sized club shafts.    
     
     
         6 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 3   , wherein the lower and upper mounting members have outer dimensions substantially identical to one another.  
     
     
         7 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , wherein at least one of the upper and lower grips defines an outer surface having a first end and a second end, the first end having an outer diameter and the second end having an outer diameter, and the outer diameters at each end being substantially equal.  
     
     
         8 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , further comprising means for limiting the angular rotation of the lower grip relative to the upper grip.  
     
     
         9 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , further comprising at least one locking member coupled to at least one end of the lower grip for selectably preventing rotation of the lower grip relative to the upper grip.  
     
     
         10 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , further comprising a top mounting member fixedly mounted to the upper grip and enclosing an inner surface thereof at one end.  
     
     
         11 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 10   , wherein the top mounting member defines an annular channel for receiving an end of the upper grip.  
     
     
         12 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 10   , wherein the golf club shaft is hollow and the top mounting member has a center portion fixedly mountable within the hollow of the golf club shaft.  
     
     
         13 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 12   , wherein the top mounting member further comprises a plurality of engaging surfaces approximately concentric with a longitudinal axis of the plug and located substantially on the outer surface of said plug.  
     
     
         14 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , further comprising a bottom mounting member coupled to the lower grip which is slidably mounted on at least one of the lower grip and the golf club shaft.  
     
     
         15 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , wherein at least one of the upper and lower grips further comprises a plurality of exterior ribs spaced relative to each other and defining a plurality of recesses therebetween.  
     
     
         16 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , wherein the upper and lower grips each further comprises a plurality of exterior ribs spaced relative to each other and defining a plurality of recesses therebetween, and wherein the ribs of the lower grip are rotatably alignable with the ribs of the upper grip.  
     
     
         17 . A grip assembly as defined in    claim 1   , wherein: 
 the golf club shaft is coupled to a golf club head defining a striking face;    the upper grip comprises at least two exterior ribs spaced relative to each other and defining a first plane extending between the outermost surfaces of two adjacent ribs; and    the first plane is approximately perpendicular to a second plane substantially defined by the striking face of the golf club head.    
     
     
         18 . A grip assembly for a golf club, comprising: 
 first means for gripping a golf club, said first means being slidably mountable on a golf club shaft and rotatable relative thereto;    second means for gripping a golf club, said second means being slidably mountable on the golf club shaft, interchangeably mountable with the first means, and fixedly secured to the golf club shaft to prevent rotation of the second means relative go the golf club shaft;    third means coupled to the first means and facing the second means for slidably contacting at least one of the second means and the golf club shaft to facilitate rotation of the first means relative thereto; and    fourth means coupled to the second means and facing the first means for slidably contacting the third means to facilitate rotation of the first means relative to the second means and golf club shaft.    
     
     
         19 . A grip assembly for a golf club, further comprising means for means for locking the position of the first means and thereby preventing rotation of the first means relative to the second means and golf club shaft.